For thousands of years, mankind has been contemplating and philosophizing, what I have come to accept as, the importance balance plays in life. In my own life, this has come in many forms. From compensation for work I do for an employer to faith-based organized religion, I have always had a need to find some sort of balance. This has been difficult to achieve at times, however. Sometimes outside sources such as world events can effect my balance. Other times, it can simply be my own inner thoughts. The former is out of my own control. The latter is quite within my grasp. To help with inner thoughts, I look to some seemingly odd, and very small, places.
Christianity 101
In my article When to Give Up, I mentioned I was raised in the church. Among other things, I was taught it was important to pray to God concerning everything and meditate on the scriptures from the Christian Holy Bible. Prayer and meditation is a very personal experience that exists in several religions. And for very good reason. In most cases, these exercises will allow you to relax, recharge, and refocus on what matters most.
In the case of Christianity, prayer is a communication channel to the Creator of all things. Growing up I believed that this dialog would include God answering my prayers in a way that would make sense to me. As I became a teenager, I quickly realized this was not the case. Most of the time, what I thought were answers from God would not make much sense at all. But I would always try to accept whatever form the answer would come in.
Meditating on the scriptures would most often be through Bible study groups at church. However, I would also try to find time at home to read and ponder what the original authors had intended to convey in their words. Over all, the Bible was a blueprint for how I wanted to live my life and how I would choose what other things and who would influence me. My understanding of what I was reading was quite limited in my early years. And once again, as I became a teenager, I quickly realized my understanding was a bit off.
One of the topics that interested me most in my church youth group was the study of other religions. Of those we studied, there seemed to be a common theme. Each had some sort of deity system, a scripture text, a way to live a good life, and a sense of community. However, all of them seemed to be at odds with each other. I thought to myself, how could this be. With so many similarities, how could all of these religions teach their followers to hate each other so much. It was at this time I felt they must all be wrong.
Newton's Laws
Sir Isaac Newton was an English "natural philosopher" who was one of the most influential scientists of all time. Like me, he too was born into the Christian faith. Not only did he study and set many of the foundational principles of mathematics, science, and physics, he also studied Christianity in such a way that he would not have been considered orthodox by mainstream Christianity; even today!
One of his more notable contributions to science, that can also be applied to thought itself, are Newton's laws of motion. The first law is that an object which is at rest will remain at rest, and an object which is in motion will stay in motion. This is, of course, unless the object is acted upon by an external force. The second law tells us that the rate of change in momentum of an object over time is directly related to the force applied and occurs in the same direction as is applied. The third, and final, law states that all forces between two objects exist in equal magnitude and of opposite direction. In other words, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
How one might apply this to thought is actually quite simple. For the first law, when my mind is clear and focused, it will remain that way. Also, if my thoughts are running wild, they too will remain to run wild. That is, until something I am doing, or when something outside of myself, forces me to make a change in thought. Enjoying music, reading, and television are a few ways I am able to clear my mind and stay focused. Worrying about my family or other loved ones has always been a sure fire way to get my thoughts running wild. And probably the number one way to get my thoughts derailed is when I am in deep thought and I am interrupted by a phone call or a knock on the door.
The rate of change in my thoughts has always been directly proportional, in terms of momentum, as the forces applied to them. And most definitely in the same direction. This is Newton's second law without a doubt. When negative thoughts creep in and there are no positive influences, my mind can only go to more negative thoughts. Conversely, when positive thoughts and influence begin to occur, my train of thought can remain on that positive track for quite a while.
Finally, everything I think about often tends to find its way back around. For example, in my darkest of days, all of those negative thoughts come to a head. And like an explosion, my mind will break and suddenly only positive thoughts will flow. It is almost like my brain finally pushes back and I have nowhere else to go except in the opposite direction! Of the three, this is probably the least "law like" interpretation. Then again, there aren't any true laws that can be 100% applied to thoughts. The point I am attempting to relate to this is that, for me, it is common for this to happen.
Christianity 201
Almost 4 years after that religious study in youth group, I had what I can only describe as an epiphany. Although I still felt that all of the religions of the world should be able to get along, I was certain religion had its place in my life. Not so much the organized religion as one might view as "religion", but more of what I feel faith is all about. I will not go into too much detail on this as one of the core beliefs I hold on faith is that it is completely personal. I cannot in anyway fully describe what faith is to me because no one else has shared my exact experiences. Nor do I feel like I have it all figured out. In fact, some believe there is only one true faith. I, however, do not subscribe to that belief.
As I mentioned before, the Christian Holy Bible has been my guide to almost every choice I make. The inspired Word of God has, to this day, been a strong guiding force for my life. It influences decisions I make and how I choose to live my own life. However, it no longer has an influence on how I feel about others or their choices and beliefs. Call it maturity, or call it clarity, I have found that the lessons of the Old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament are most certainly not teaching me to assert my own choices and beliefs on others.
So, what is up with this "come to Jesus" moment for me?!? Well, I would have to say it is all about how Jesus lived. He questioned the teachings of the church of the day, He loved everyone, and He was LOVE! Although I am not Jesus, or close to even perfect for that matter, I can completely related to questioning what I have been taught by the church, how to love everyone, and how to be LOVE for someone else.
Three failed marriages, and seven church congregations later, I'm still looking for my place in Christianity. I have certainly not lost my faith in a higher power. More than anything, I would say I have lost faith in other people’s use of religion. Especially those who worship the religion over the deity the religion is based on. There is very little balance between service and faith when it came to the congregations I have been a part of. And I feel balance is the important piece of the puzzle missing for me.
Yin and Yang
You have probably heard of Yin and Yang and have even seen the symbol that represents it. Historically, Yin has been the white side and Yang the black. In modern usage, it is now the reverse. However, the white and black represent the light and dark respectively. So, for me, Yin is the white side and Yang the black. I find this symbolism the appropriate way to express the importance of balance. Just as the sun lights the day, and is hidden to form the night, everything I do needs to have a counter action.
I work to provide for myself and family. I eat to have energy to work. I sleep to allow my body to recover from work. Sometimes this all becomes unbalanced. Especially the eating and sleeping cycles. If I don't find balance again, it can all come apart. Fortunately it has never become so unbalanced that I wasn't able to find balance once again. In terms of physical health, I was fortunate enough to have had a health scare knock me back on track. And in terms of mental health, I have worked to build a sleep schedule that allows me to fall asleep and wake up naturally. That doesn't happen every day. But I'm glad to say it does happen more often than not now.
The one aspect of health that seems to have the most impact on the balance of all the others is my mental health. With all of the dreadfully awful things in the news and the personal tragedies that have impacted my life, it has become increasingly important for me to fill my mind with positive influences. When I'm sad, I watch a funny movie. When I'm anxious, I tend to exercise my creative side. And when I'm angry, I have to just walk away from the situation. The key to all of this seems to be finding something that will counteract the negative influences.
For every dark or negative thing, I must find something from the light or positive side of life. And for all of the positive, there must be something negative to keep me grounded. There is no exception to this in any way. There is an inherent balance between all of the things that go through my mind. If I remain positive all of the time, I will never know how to handle that which is bad. If I remain negative all of the time, I will never know how to handle that which is good. Keeping those two aspects of life balanced will indeed be the key to my having a wonderful life. This does not mean I go after the darkness. I already know it will come from time to time. I merely need to accept that it is there and every bit a part of my balance as the light is.
Zen
As there is no shortage of negative influences in my life, I have had to find some sources of constant positivity and light. I have always been attracted to the art and architecture in Japanese culture. And as I have explored this, I have found that most Asian cultures have aspects that have inspired me. All of that can be summed up in the the word Zen. This also led me to discover there are roots going back to Indian culture specifically to Buddhism. Centuries ago that culture began to spread throughout the known world and gave birth to Zen philosophy.
Although Zen began in a religious context, I have adapted it to a more general practice of finding balance in the world around me. I honestly believe it can be applied regardless of religion or beliefs. There is real flexibility in how it can be applied. That is because I draw from my world and beliefs to find that balance and sense of Zen. I'm not going to go into the finer details of what Zen is. A quick Internet search can get you on the path to understanding that. However, I do want to talk about what I do to find my Zen and how I can integrate it into my personal beliefs.
At the beginning of 2021, after a very long and traumatic 2020, I decided I would build a desktop Zen garden. Basically, this is a tray, or set of trays, of sand with objects in it and designs raked or stamped into the sand. It is an art form to calm the mind or prepare it for meditation. It is not necessary to work the garden each day. The objects I use with my Zen gardening vary from rocks to little momentos of my travels. It allows me to connect my past, present, and future in a circular reference.
Although I have been artistic all of my life, I recently have begun painting when I become anxious about something. I also paint when I feel inspired to do so. I just take to the canvas and brush when something is on my mind that I do not want to negatively impact my day. Because of my desktop Zen gardening, I decided the best size is a 4x4 inch canvas with miniature easels. This allows me to also display the paintings in my Zen garden from time to time. This form of art has been a great therapeutic tool for helping me find balance. Plus, it sure is a lot of fun!
Namaste Chakra
All of this works for me and is based on my own personal experience. This is by no means a list of specific things I am suggesting you give a try. All I really hope to do by writing all of this is to inspire you to find balance. I also wanted to give you a glimpse of what I am discovering on this journey. This is also not an exhaustive study on balance and how it has affected me. If you completely disagree with me, that is perfectly fine. If you find this useful, that is great as well!
Whatever your motivation is, balance is truly an important thing to find in this life. I've been around for more than 4 decades now. In all that time, balance has been the most beneficial asset I have had in my arsenal against the troubles of my life. The world will beat me up. But now it will never be able to knock me out! It is my sincere hope that you too find ways and techniques to achieve balance.
